Healthy Aging

Healthy Aging

Compiled by: Farideh Roshandel

All of us have some dear ones (like mother or father) who are getting older day by day. Even some of us are getting older ourselves. So it is significant to be familiar with this period of life. For older adults, good health ensures independence, security, and productivity as they age. Yet millions struggle every day with health and safety challenges such as depression, diseases, social problems, and mental health issues, all of which can severely impact quality of life.

Depression

The changes that often come in later life, retirement, the death of loved ones, increased isolation, medical problems, can lead to depression. Depression prevents you from enjoying life like you used to. But its effects go far beyond mood. It also impacts your energy, sleep, appetite, and physical health. However, depression is not an inevitable part of aging, and there are many steps you can take to overcome the symptoms, no matter the challenges you face. Depression is highly treatable. If older people could just admit to it and get help, they could probably live a much more active and healthy life. That’s because studies find that older people who are depressed are more likely to develop memory and learning problems, while other research links depression to an increased risk of death from numerous age-related diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, stroke and pneumonia.

Social Isolation

Elderly people who are socially isolated and lonely may be at greater risk of early death, British researchers report. Lack of social contact might be an even bigger risk factor than loneliness, they added. Why, however, isolation is such a powerful predictor of death isn’t clear. Social contact is a fundamental aspect of human existence. The scientific evidence is that being socially isolated is probably bad for your health, and may lead to the development of serious illness and a reduced life span.

There is research suggesting that loneliness has similar associations with poor health. In many ways, social isolation and loneliness are two sides of the same coin. Social isolation indicates a lack of contact with friends, relatives and organizations, while loneliness is a subjective experience of lack of companionship and social contact. So we need to keep an eye on the social connections of older people, since maintaining social contacts among seniors and reducing isolation may be particularly important for their future survival. Isolation is a significant factor in both reduced quality of life and mortality. Social isolation, however, increased the risk of dying regardless of one’s health and other factors, while loneliness increased the risk of dying only among those with underlying mental or physical problems, the researchers found.

Dementia

Dementia is not an inevitable part of aging. Dementia should be seen as a modifiable health condition and, if it occurs, should be followed as a medical condition, not a normal part of aging In other words, if you or your loved one becomes forgetful, it could be related to medication, nutrition or modifiable medical issues. Don’t assume Alzheimer’s.

Just consider that when doctors examined the brain of a 115-year-old woman who, when she died, was the world’s oldest woman, they found essentially normal brain tissue, with no evidence of Alzheimer’s or other dementia-causing conditions. Testing in the years before she died showed no loss in brain function. Not only is dementia not inevitable with age, but you actually have some control over whether or not you develop it.

There is a linkage between health in your 40s, 50s and 60s and cognitive function later in life. Studies find that many of the same risk factors that contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, may also contribute to Alzheimer’s and other dementias. For instance, studies on the brains of elderly people with and without dementia find significant blood vessel damage in those with hypertension. Such damage shrinks the amount of healthy brain tissue you have in reserve, reducing the amount available if a disease like Alzheimer’s hits. The more brain function you have to begin with, the more you can afford to lose before your core functions are affected.

Exercise your body and your brain to dodge the dementia bullet. Physical activity plays a role in reducing the risk of diseases that cause Alzheimer’s. It also builds up that brain reserve. One study found just six months of regular physical activity increased brain volume in 59 healthy but couch-potato individuals ages 60 to 79. Other research finds people who exercised twice a week over an average of 21 years slashed their risk of Alzheimer’s in half. Then there’s intellectual exercise, it doesn’t matter what kind just that you break out of your comfort zone. Even writing letters twice a week instead of sending e-mail can have brain-strengthening benefits. That’s because such novel activities stimulate more regions of the brain, increasing blood flow and helping to not only build brain connections, but improve the health of existing tissue. Remember, it’s never too late! In an oft-cited study, 50 men and women with an average age of 87 worked out with weights for 10 weeks and increased their muscle strength. Even more important, they also increased their walking speed, a marker of overall physical health in the elderly.

Arthritis

The pain and disability caused by arthritis isn’t inevitable as you get older. While arthritis is more common as you age, thanks to the impact of time on the cushiony cartilage that prevents joints and bone from rubbing against one another, age itself doesn’t cause arthritis. There are steps you can take in your youth to prevent it, such as losing weight, wearing comfortable, supportive shoes (as opposed to three-inch spikes), and taking it easy with joint-debilitating exercise like running and basketball. One study found women who exercised at least once every two weeks for at least 20 minutes were much less likely to develop arthritis of the knee (the most common location for the disease) than women who exercised less. So just take care of yourself because we cannot share our physical pains or mental disabilities with other people.

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